Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Salt Lake County Mayor's wife Amy Coroon and Kids cook Key Lime Pie





Key Lime is key to any man's heart! :)

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700055570/Lime-is-key-to-Corroons-heart-for-specialty-pie-contest-at-county-fair-Friday.html

Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon loves his wife's Key lime pie so much, he designated Key lime as this year's flavor for the pie contest in the 74th Annual County Fair.

Amy Corroon isn't entering the pie contest officially, but she may display her special "Two-Layer Key Lime Pie" at the event. She may even sneak her pie into the contest just for fun to see if her husband can identify her recipe.

"I think I'll blindfold him," Amy Corroon laughs. "I'd like to think he could tell the difference between my pie and others."

Amy's recipe isn't a big secret, though, so she decided to share it with Deseret News readers. She baked her Key lime pie with the help of her children Sophie, 9; Peter Jr., 8; and James, 7, in her mother's kitchen. She chose the site since her stove broke after 25 years. She plans on asking her husband for a new stove for her upcoming birthday.

Amy got the pie recipe from her friend, Amy Sullivan of Salt Lake City, who served it as dessert for an Easter dinner one year.

"It was the best thing I had ever tasted," Amy Corroon said.

She begged her friend for the recipe. Sullivan gave her the leftover half a pie the next day, along with the recipe, which came from Bon Appetit magazine. Amy Corroon recalls, "I ate it all that day. I'm so embarrassed — I ate the whole thing."
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Amy Corroon says she likes this particular Key lime pie recipe since it has a cheesecake layer instead of the traditional meringue topping. She also likes the granola in the graham cracker crust.

The mayor's wife loves to bake, saying that while growing up, many of her family's traditions involved food and special family recipes. "Our family reunions become competitions for who can cook the best," she said.

Cooking can be incredibly therapeutic and relaxing, Amy Corroon said.

"I love flipping through recipe books and trying new recipes," she said.

The deadline for the fifth annual specialty pie contest is Friday, Aug. 13. The Key lime pies must be delivered between 1 and 2 p.m. Peter Corroon will test the pies at 2 p.m. The public is invited to watch the judging.

The fair runs through Saturday, Aug. 14, at the Salt Lake County Equestrian Park and Fair Grounds, 2100 W. 11400 South, South Jordan. Go to www.countyfair.slco.org/index.html for information about the Salt Lake County Fair, or call 801-254-0106.
Key lime pie originated in the Florida Keys in the 1850s when there were still few cows in the area, and sweetened condensed milk was newly invented. The acidic lime juice mixed with the milk causes a chemical reaction that actually cooks the pie. However, nowadays baking is recommended since the ingredients include eggs.

While Persian limes are large, oval and dark green, Key limes are small, round and pale yellow. Some bakers add green food coloring to the pie filling — a practice frowned upon in the Keys.

TWO-LAYER KEY LIME PIE

Crust:

¾ cup plain granola (no raisins or other dried fruit)

¾ cup graham cracker crumbs (six whole crackers)

3 tablespoons sugar

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted, melted butter

Baked layer:

14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

½ cup fresh Key lime juice

3 large egg yolks

Chilled layer:

8-ounce package cream cheese

½ cup sweetened condensed milk

¼ cup fresh Key lime juice

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla
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Sweetened whipped cream (optional)

Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend granola in food processor until coarsely ground. In a medium bowl, mix granola, graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add melted butter. Press mixture into a 9-inch in diameter deep-dish glass pie dish. Bake 8 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove crust from oven and cool completely.

Baked layer: Whisk condensed milk, lime juice and egg yolks in medium bowl. Pour into pie crust. Bake at 300 degrees for 25 minutes or until set. Cool to room temperature.

Chilled layer: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, condensed milk, lime juice, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Pour over cool baked layer. Smooth top with spatula. Cover and chill four hours or until set.

Optional: Pipe sweetened whipped cream decoratively around edges of pie.

Serving size: 8

— Bon Appetit magazine, April 2004

Monday, August 9, 2010

Paul's Patch is open! :)

Paul's Patch is open for business! Last Saturday I picked up five big fat zucchini, four incredibly red tomatoes and a spaghetti squash – all for $5!
If you want to find this super cool farmer's roadside produce stand, travel on I-15 north of SLC, take the Brigham City exit and then turn right on Main Street. You will see the stand on the east (left) side of the road across the street from the movie theater! If you are lucky, Farmer Paul will be there!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Pasta with Thyme-Mint Cream Sauce

Pasta with Thyme-Mint Cream Sauce





Pasta with Thyme-Mint Cream Sauce

Chicken Pasta with Thyme-Mint Cream Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

* 1 pound pasta, such as linguine or fettucini

* 2 Tbsp olive oil

* 1 1/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes (optional)

* Salt and freshly ground black pepper

* 1/2 cup of dry white wine (optional)

* 1/2 cup chicken stock

* 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

* 2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint

* 1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme

* 1 teaspoon lemon zest

* 2 teaspoons honey

* 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar or apple cider vinegar

* 1/2 teaspoon salt and more salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

1 Heat 4 quarts of salted* water in a large pot for the pasta. As the water heats, prepare the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high. Season the chicken pieces generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the chicken pieces, spreading them out initially and then not stirring them, so they have an opportunity to brown. Once lightly browned on one side, use tongs to flip the pieces over so they brown on the second side. When pieces are browned on both sides, and just cooked through, remove to a paper towel lined plate.

2 Deglaze the pan with white wine. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken stock and let liquids reduce by half (turn up the heat if necessary). Add the cream, mint, thyme, lemon zest, honey, salt, and vinegar. Reduce the sauce by half again.

3 Once the pasta water is boiling, add the pasta and cook following directions on pasta package. When pasta is ready, drain and add to cream sauce when cream sauce has been reduced by half and is thick enough to coat a spoon. Add chicken to the pasta and sauce. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

* Use a teaspoon of salt for every quart of water. Some people wait until the water is boiling to add the salt. Makes little difference to me. Just make sure you get the salt in the pasta water or your pasta will be tasteless.

Serve immediately. Garnish with a little chopped fresh mint and thyme. Serves 4-6.